


speak into the silence

by KeanBlade



Series: Shades of Rose [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Senju Tobirama Needs a Hug, cat!Madara, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2019-11-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 14:13:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21303416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeanBlade/pseuds/KeanBlade
Summary: Madara killed the man that turned him into a caracal- even as a cat he wasn't to be underestimated- he knew that, but everything else was a little fuzzy other than the need to get back to the village (back home). How he ended up in Tobirama's lab he had no idea but it turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to him.
Relationships: Senju Tobirama/Uchiha Madara
Series: Shades of Rose [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480928
Comments: 48
Kudos: 662





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Onyx_Light](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onyx_Light/gifts).
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Onyx_Light's comment about cat!Madara protecting Tobirama's lab

Madara pressed himself back into his corner with a distressed hiss, lashing out with sharp claws at the large thick brown hand approaching him cuffing with laughter when he was rewarded with a distressed wail and the fast recoil of the hand. “Hashi, honestly, leave it be. It’s not causing a problem.” said a cool rich voice, soothing Madara’s fur down and letting him settle into a more comfortable crouch than his squished back stance “_But_ brother! He shouldn’t be in your laboratory, what if you hurt him?” Madara’s ears pinned back sharply at the change in the cool tea-ink-rosehips scent (He was _sad_, Madara didn’t like it) and the voice was tight when he responded “Are you saying that I’m going to be so distracted as to hurt it or that I will hurt it on purpose?” there was a pause and then “Um.” “Get out brother, the caracal will be fine and doesn’t want to go with you anyway.” The wailing renewed but the voice was firm, and it wasn’t long before the second man was kicked out of the room, Madara breathed a sigh of relief only to stiffen when he saw sharp red eyes watching him where the pale shape was sitting against at table across from him. The albino (?) sat and watched (he looked tired) for a long moment before speaking “I’m not going to hurt you. Brother’s wrong, you’ll be fine, and I’ve never experimented on a live animal before if I wasn’t going to kill it quickly and then eat it and I am _certainly _not going to do anything to you accidentally.” The albino chewed on his lip for a moment “I think – I _know _he doesn’t mean it like that but… it’s,” he broke off with a sharp shake of his head “foolish, I already know he thinks me cruel, this is nothing new” and stood up, leaving Madara in his corner and turning to other things.

Madara dozed, drifting and lazy as the soft sounds from the lab filtered through; quiet clicking, soft murmuring as the albino talked to himself, the almost constant sound of brush on paper, and then the soft sounds of water filling a dish; he ignored it until there was a soft clack as something was set in front of the bench he was tucked away under and he opened his eyes in time to see feet walking away and a low dish filled with water placed where he could get to it without having to leave his safe little bolt-hole. Madara eyed the dish warily, he _would _like some water but he was reluctant to expose his back with he knew (?) how fast the albino could move but… they hadn’t done anything to him, had even chased out the tree for him, so probably… Madara slunk out from under the bench warily but the man was on the other side of the lab, bent over a pile of scrolls that made Madara dizzy just to look at so for now he focused on getting a drink before retreating under the bench. Only, now that he had poked his head out he was curious about the lab and it was harder to sit still so after fidgeting for several long minutes he poked his head out, looking around to see if he could find the man; luckily they were right where Madara had last scene them, bent over the desk and chewing on a lip harshly enough it probably hurt. Either way Madara was fairly sure he could come out and look around and not be noticed as long as he was careful at this point, which was nice because the popping spitting thing in the corner was _very _interesting and Madara wanted to see what it did.

* * *

The lab Madara discovered was a _fascinating_ place, so many interesting smells and bubbling things and reams upon reams of paper; and the pale man didn’t pay him any attention except to warn him off of some of the more delicate things with a thin stream of water around them. So it was somewhat surprising to turn around after poking into the last corner and find those red eyes fixed on him as the albino watched him with a tired expression, “You’re very smart, I wonder if you have some nin-animal in you.” He watched Madara as the caracal watched him back “You remind me of Madara, there’s something about you… maybe it’s the ear tufts. Though, it almost feels like… I would swear you feel like his charka which makes no sense” he rubbed at his face looking exhausted “he’s not even in the village right now, off being pacifying the Daimyo right now” Madara, who had perked up at the sound of his name, sighed and settled back on his haunches, no luck then. The albino tapped at his desk thoughtfully, “It’s a good thing too I suppose, he probably wouldn’t like this research even though all I am trying to do is figure out how to get his brother out of that damn coma!” Madara hissed softly, he might not recognize people at the moment but he _knew_ who his brother was, would know his brother no matter what, and to here this person talk about his brother was…_ Infuriating_ though he couldn’t have said why; the albino sent him a sad look at the hiss, seeming to shrink a little, "rather more like him than I thought then.” He said softly “He is so determent to think the worst of me and – you can't yell at me can you? Maybe you’ll hear me out even if he won’t.”

The albino shifted to face Madara a little more head on though he still avoided the cat’s eyes “I stabbed Izuna you see,” (Izuna, that was his brother’s name) “it was a battle and he was trying to kill me and- Hashi and Madara never tried all that hard to kill each other but Izuna wants me _dead_, the Senju ‘freak’ is better off dead I guess” Madara shifted a little, he didn’t want to call the albino ‘freak’ even if he didn’t have another name “so I stabbed him but – I couldn’t do it. Madara looked… I couldn’t do it even though I _knew_ it meant that Izuna could kill my clansmen and I _knew_ he was going to try and kill me; he hates me to much not to take the opportunity so I, I tried to heal him. Only Touka saw him raise his sword and stab me and she pulled me out of the way before I could finish healing Izuna; he fell into a coma after that and I haven’t the faintest idea _why_! My healing should have been enough to help him recover a fair amount of the way even if I didn’t finish it but, we’ve had the village for six months now and he hasn’t so much as twitched. Madara blames me for it of course, I can’t even be mad about it, Hashi hasn’t forgiven me for it either and he’s supposed to be my brother a not think the worst of me. Touka was furious of course, mad as a wet cat that I let Izuna land a hit on me when I could have avoided it and let Izuna die but…” the albino, twisted painfully at his fingers “I couldn’t do that too Madara.” He whispered to the scarred desk. Madara shifted he – he didn’t really understand, if this story was correct- and Madara didn’t remember clearly enough what had happened to know if it was- then the albino had been rewarded for his mercy with unkindness where he should have been thanked and that - that didn’t sit right with Madara.

The… um, the Senju freak (he _needed_ a better name) pulled hard at his fingers and scrubbed his face, “This is foolish. Telling a cat about things in the past just because it feels a _tiny_ bit like Madara is stupid. Fucking useless. I need to _focus_, if I can just get Izuna to wake up…” he trailed off as he turned back to his notes and Madara watched him from across the room, paralyzed with confusion; he wanted to hate the pale man but, but what if he was telling the truth? And why would he lie to a _cat_? If he was telling the truth… Madara prowled slowly closer, inching his way across the lab in a circular movement that hid his intention of getting closer to the absorbed man (how long had he been working on this? the circles under his pretty eyes were impressive). The Senju freak (Madara’s skin crawled a little to think of him like that) didn’t look up until Madara leapt lightly onto his desk and stared at the tired man who blinked at him with eyes Madara could see where unfocused- they were also quite pretty now that he could see them closer, even the _pupil_ was red!- “…yes?” he asked after a moment (it was a little odd how much the albino treated him like he could understand, wasn’t it?) and Madara rumbled happily, stocking forward to but his head against one long fingered hand; for a moment there was nothing and then he began to stroke Madara carefully, long caresses down Madara’s back that got more sure when all the caracal did was arch into his hand.

Madara was more than a little shocked by the sudden sniff and looked at the Senju- nope, not calling him that- um, person; freezing when he saw tears dripping from red eyes (he hated that they looked even prettier like that), completely unsure what had caused the sudden weeping. “I’m sorry” he rasped drawing his hands back and tucking them to his chest like he expected to be told off for petting Madara “I’m sorry, I just- it’s been a while since anyone touched me with Touka away with the Uzumaki after she tried to attack Hashi and I- I’m sorry” he trailed off into a tired whisper and all the fur on Madara’s back went up; for him- uh, pretty eyes, that would work- for pretty eyes to be so touched starved as too cry over petting a _cat _was just not right. Hadn’t the tall annoying man- Hashi?- said they were brothers? Why wasn’t he petting pretty eyes as often as he needed? Well, Madara didn’t know what was going on, he couldn’t remember thing that had happened in the past very well for all that he knew facts, and he knew that pretty eyes thought Madara hated him but while he was a cat and couldn’t remember _why_ he hated the albino he could take care of the slim man. With that in mind he slipped closer, rubbing against strong arms gently and flopping himself down in front of pretty eyes, willing to wait until the man collected himself and started petting again.

Madara was fairly sure it was only his presence and his hunger that convinced the man to leave his labs and return to his house shadowed by Madara the whole way; he was clearly a little surprised to see that Madara had come with him but didn’t question it (Madara had a feeling he didn’t want to jinx it), just letting the caracal into the house and digging out some meat for him to eat out of a dish on the counter Madara had claimed for himself. A counter that gave him a good view of the defeated look on pretty eyes’ face as he looked at the stove, clearly fighting with himself about eating of not until Madara hiss at him and he slowly set to cooking a bland meal; it was eaten with a similar lack of enthusiasm and after he just stared at this dishes for a moment before moving to do them mechanically, yes, Madara decided, pretty eyes needed a keeper and since no one else was around to do it he would until he turned back into himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I write fast and don't edit much- this is a place for me to not have to worry too much about perfection and just enjoy it- so things can be mangled at times. (I've got a wonky brain that can't see symbols as well, so I frequently can't even see mistakes) That's not something that's likely to change any time soon, so if imperfect writing puts you off this probably isn't for you


	2. Chapter 2

Madara soon discovered to his frustration that tending to pretty eyes was _difficult _ as the other man seemed determined to neglect himself as every turn; Madara had to herd him into bed and remind him to eat, Madara had to convince him to leave the tower as he took on more and more work (he was pulling paper off of the desk Madara had a vague feeling was supposed to be his), Madara had to push him to not go into the labs after he was done in the tower (though that rarely worked), and Madara had to curl up next to him at night or he thrashed and whimpered in his sleep. And then of course their was his protective duties; the caracal had taken to defending the labs with a ferocity that surprised everyone (even Madara) and about the time he pounced on Hashi’s head when the man came to bother his little brother (it always made pretty eyes face pinch a little) he decided that he was really quite happy doing almost anything if it got him that soft laughter and grateful scratches. Still, it’s couldn’t last, the village was getting concerned as his return date passed and there was no sign of him (at least that’s what pretty eyes said- also, why did no one use his proper name? Madara still didn’t know it) and pretty eyes was spending more and more time slaving over the papers he said were supposed to help Madara’s brother wake up, chewing on his lips and twisting his finger with every set of jutsu that came back without what ever he was looking for; he was tormenting himself over this and a week into his stay as pretty eyes’ keeper Madara was getting more than a little worried.

Something had to give and the day it did was the day pretty eyes flipped his fingers though a jutsu and his hands glowed white-green, I must have been what he was looking for because he stared at his hands for a moment before deflating with an exhausted look; “Well, this is, damn. Now I have to figure out how to convince that Uchiha to let me see him and try it on him.” he winced “Izuna is going to try and kill me again isn’t he” he said sounding a little defeated (Madara didn’t like it) “fuck, and Madara isn’t even here to see it, though that might be better really, I can’t imagine he would let _me_ get near Izuna even if I said I had a way to wake him up.” Madara shifted, he didn’t like how convinced pretty eyes was that Madara hated him; it made Madara feel like there was something he was missing and that bothered him, he didn’t really want to hate pretty eyes, not after spending a week and a half constantly in the mans company and seeing him at his most venerable, not after seeing the way pretty eyes always seemed to relax and smile a little for Madara. But he was _so _ convinced that Madara hated him so… Madara refused to let pretty eyes go to the hospital alone, he had no interest in abandoning his charge at this point, not after all the work he had put into getting the circles under his eyes smaller and making him eat more; also, he wanted to be there to hiss at anyone that tried to hurt pretty eyes, he wasn’t going to stand for that!

It was every bit as hard as pretty eyes had expected to get into the room when Izuna- his _brother-_ was laid out and pretty eyes was followed by unhappy looking people all the way in (it was making him uncomfortable and Madara couldn’t do anything about that right now), and one person addressed pretty eyes in a sharp voiced “Explain again what this is supposed to do Senju?” pretty eyes sighed a little (Madara only heard it because he was on pretty eyes’ shoulders) “Izuna isn’t in a natural coma, this is not the way that the body reacts to this sort of trauma and I can feel it that he is being held under by something. Therefor it makes sense that the best way to deal with it is to simply dispel any jutsu on him as I can’t identify what it is specifically that is keeping him under. You _know_ I am regularly helping out in the hospital and I put this together to try and wake him up, it’s not a promise but it might work and either way we will know more.” The sharp eyed man watched him for a moment (Madara bared his long teeth at him, pleased at the slightly nervous look it got him) before nodding jerkily, “I’m staying in here though” he said and pretty eyes shrugged (carefully so as not to disturb Madara, pretty eyes was good like that) before approaching the bed.

Madara hopped off his shoulders and onto the white sheets when they got close enough, peering at his pale brother and ignoring the unhappy noises from the man- at this point everyone knew better than to try and move him when he didn’t want to be moved- in favor of watching pretty eyes prepare his jutsu, scanning Izuna with a faint frown before stepping back and shaking out his hands. And then it began; it was the single longest chain of hand signs Madara had _ever_ seen, long fingers flicking though them at impressive speed and with exacting care, (Madara hardly noticed when the door flew open and Hashi ran in, worry on his face as started speaking “_Tobi!_ You can’t hurt-“) as chakra built and built and built, filling the room with a sensation not unlike the rising tide held in check by nothing more than will power and concentration (dimly Madara realized that this was one of the most complicated powerful jutsu he had ever seen, far more powerful than Tob-pretty eyes had ever done before). But it was working, lines of white-green slipping under Izuna’s skin and lifting a miasma of brown-gray _something_ out of him and as it did so the younger Uchiha stirred, forehead crinkling and sifting uncomfortably; so absorbed was Madara in Izuna that he hardly noticed the power of the jutsu sinking under his skin as well, lifting off a burnt orange net that had wrapped around him. But he _did_ notice when the power holding him in the shape of a caracal snapped and he was suddenly sprawled over the bed next to his brother in his right form; he shoved the rush of memory and sensation (Tobira-) to the back of his mind, focusing intently on his brother as prett-Tobirama’s chakra pulled off whatever had Izuna trapped in sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The jutsu snapped, power backlashed sharply, and Izuna woke up (Tobirama stumbled back, vision clearing slowly as black dots lingered on the edges of his vison, he had _never_ used that much chakra in one jutsu or attempted something that used that much control and chakra types; it was hard to control his breathing and he could feel his heart beating arrhythmically in the aftermath. But he looked up and it had worked, Izuna was awake and the _look_ on Madara’s face made it worth it. He shied away from the thought of Madara’s company as a cat, clearly he had had no recollection of Tobirama and had latched onto the first source of food that didn’t harass him, given that it was highly unlikely that the Uchiha would remember anything of his time with Tobirama which was… for the best even if it made him feel like he was being punched in the stomach, however he had been turned into the cat it was clearly over now). Madara couldn’t take his eyes off his confused brother and hardly noticed when the younger Senju brother slipped out (lie), to focused on showering Izuna with affection and explanations about where they were.

It should have been happy having his brother back, and it _was_; but Izuna had passed out on a field of battle with the Senju suddenly awakening in a world where he was expected to not consider them his foes was… difficult. Madara knew that, so he tried to give his brother space to sort it out in the safety of the Uchiha compound, far to grateful to have his brother _alive and awake_ to care about much else for now (his paperwork in the tower was completed when his brother kicked him out for some peace and he hardly noticed that it was much less than it should have been. He didn’t notice that he never remembered to thank Tobirama) so it was nearly a month later when he was able to pry himself away- though it was getting easier as he remembered had much of a _brat_ Izuna was- and give into Hashirama’s pleas to go to the public baths together. It was easy to ignore that Tobirama was with him (he didn’t know how to feel about the younger man, <strike>he wanted to make him eat, he wanted to give him a hug, he wanted to rage at him, he wanted to make the sadness go away and feel hands on his back</strike>) as he had basically ignored the younger man since Izuna had awoken, unwilling to dig into his conflicted feelings when his brother needed him and would loose his top if he thought Madara had anything nice to say about the albino (<strike>he had such pretty eyes</strike>…).

It was a shock then to see the pale, narrow hipped figure in the water when he and Hashirama settled in; Madara forced himself to ignore the younger man (the warmth lent him a healthy color that Madara was frustrated to realize had been missing <strike>was he sleeping?)</strike>, focusing instead on answering Hashirama’s normal questions about Izuna and enjoying the water. And then – and then Tobirama stood up, slipping out of the water and shifting as he wrapped a towel around his sharp hips (<strike>he was gorgeous, had Madara never noticed that before?)</strike> and letting Madara get a glimpse of the front of his abdomen as he did so. Everything in Madara ground to a stop, all thoughts of what Hashirama was saying flying out of his mind at the sight of the shinny scar tissue on Tobirama’s pale skin; it was in the perfect spot for _“I stabbed him but – I couldn’t do it. Madara looked… I couldn’t do it even though I knew it meant that Izuna could kill my clansmen and I knew he was going to try and kill me; he hates me too much not to take the opportunity so I, I tried to heal him. Only Touka saw him raise his sword and stab me and she pulled me out of the way before I could finish healing Izuna”_ how had Madara forgotten that? How had that slipped his mind? How had he never checked before to see if the things Tobirama told a cat were true? (how was he supposed to look at a brother who tried to kill without honor and even after waking thanks to _the same person_ never told anyone what had really happened and instead still spoke as if they were mortal enemies?)

“How did you get that scar?” he asked before he had a chance to think; Tobirama (_pretty eyes_) froze, eyeing Madara with transparent wariness (_“He hates me and I don’t know what to do”)_ “A souvenir from the last days of the war Uchiha-sama” (Tobirama always called him Madara when he was alone) he said in a slow careful voice, nodding to both of them and vanishing before Madara could question him more. Hashirama sighed “I wish he would stick around a little more” he said “after all he did make up for almost killing Izuna by waking him up and it would be nice to have more than jus his notes on whatever put Izuna into a coma other than Tobi’s stabbing him” and Madara – Madara couldn’t do it, spinning on his oldest friend with a snarl “Yes, because I am sure he feels _so welcome_ with his _brother_ going on about how he has to make thing up to the man that was _trying to **kill** him!_” Hashirama recoiled, eyes huge as Madara snapped at him in fierce anger “For _fucks sake_ Hashirama, did you forget the Izuna wanted- wants- him dead? Would have killed him if Tobirama hadn’t been that little bit better? He’s your _brother_ and I hope to hell that you haven’t been talking like that to him.” (Madara knew he had _“Brother thinks me cruel_”) with that the Uchiha angrily sloshed to the edge and hauled himself out, turning a deaf ear to the Senju’s protests, there was nothing he could say to make this ok and Madara had other things to worry about right now.

Izuna was at the main house when Madara blew in, looking up with shock on his face at his brother’s sudden arrival “Broth-“ “Did Tobirama try to heal you after he struck you down?” Madara asked sharply. Izuna’s face twisted, “I don’t know what he’s been telling you but-“ “Yes or no Izuna, did he try to heal you” Izuna didn’t reply (at least he wasn’t lying to Madara’s face) “and did you try to kill him as he was healing you?” he asked; Izuna smeared “The _freak_ wants us dead, I’ve been telling you that for-“ “_Izuna!_” Madara thundered “Yes or no?” but he didn’t need his brother to respond, the answer was written on his angry face. Madara sucked in an angry breath, all the things he had been ignoring and pushing away (_“no one has touched me” “I know he hates me” “brother thinks me cruel” “the children should have a better way to learn together” “I can’t make the plumping fit together all the way and we are going to have problems later even if it’s fine now” “I’m glad we’re using so many of my plans, it would be frustrating to have wasted time on them”_), all the things that he had been pretending he didn’t hear and feel (herding a half asleep albino to bed, watching as he made bland food to tired to make anything better, seeing him smile when Madara protected him), all the things he owed the younger man that he had never thanked him for and (fuck, when had he started to _care _so much?) Madara turned, storming from the house without waiting from his brother to make excuses.


	4. Chapter 4

Tobirama’s house was exactly the same as it had been when Madara was here last as a cat, isolated and quiet on the edge of the village backing to the wilder parts of the forest it looked lonely and sad particularly with the windows dark and empty; he was still in his personal lab behind the house then, back when Madara had been with him he would have been back in the house now, curled up and reading or poking at food while Madara watched over him to make sure he eat it (it had been a _month_ since then, how much more weight had pretty eyes lost?). Madara bit his lip before striding up to the door and knocking firmly, whatever else happened he owed Tobirama a thank you and an apology for not thanking him sooner (and for how he had treated the younger man at the beginning) and however much he wanted more (a date, a chance to take care of him again, a chance to see him _smile _again) he wasn’t going to push Tobirama (though he needed to remember that Tobirama would never ask for anything for himself); he would start here and see where things went. In the moments before the door was answered Madara started to wonder if he was going to be ignored, if Tobirama was going to hide away and pretend Madara wasn’t there to protect himself from the harsh words he no doubt expected; but the albino had always been braver than Madara gave him credit for and after a long moment the door opened, Tobirama standing on the other side and watching Madara like he expected an attack.

Madara swallowed hard, he didn’t know where to _start_ “I- I realized I never said thank you, for saving my brother. I know it’s not your fault he went into a coma- clearly- and I never thanked you for all the work you put into saving him.” Tobirama blinked at him, looking shocked to the bone “Um…” he murmured and Madara took a leap, “Can I come in?” he asked softly. Tobirama looked at him for a second, examining him for anger Madara guessed, before stepping back and waving him in, leading the way to the kitchen (he clearly had _not_ been working on dinner); Madara paused at the door, memories flowing over him “I should also think you for trying to heal him when he fell in that last battle” he said. Tobirama spun around, staring at Madara with huge eyes “You- how do you- oh. you remember being the cat then.” He said, Madara nodded and walked farther into the room, covering the fingers he was starting to twist with his own broader hand, “I should have said something earlier but I- the memories were unclear” Tobirama was staring at Madara’s hands where they covered his “I didn’t expect-“ “I know” said Madara gently; and then he took another leap, tugging pretty eyes into his arms. Tobirama went easily, shuddering slightly as Madara’s arms settled around him “Let me do this.” he murmured “Let me take care of you, I _want_ to. I want to more than anything.” And Tobirama let him.

* * *

It should have been strange settling into their new rhythm together- and it was _together_, once he had been allowed in Madara found he couldn’t bring himself to leave Tobirama’s side- but it wasn’t; it wasn’t strange for Madara to coax him out of his labs with word and later (after the date Madara so wanted) soft kisses, it wasn’t strange for Madara to cook with Tobirama and bully him into bed at better hours or take the paperwork he felt he had to do and firmly delegate it. It wasn’t strange to defend him against Izuna (who was confused but increasingly resigned) or Hashirama (who was _completely_ confused, having missed their new relationship entirely) or his clansmen and any others that would speak ill of his lover (the village learned to leave the pale Senju alone of suffer the wrath of the Uchiha clan head, luckily it was considered a very romantic pairing after the whole story was leaked by someone- definitely not a very contrite Hikaku- and that softened both of their images). And six months later Madara looked at his sleeping lover, painted silver in the moonlight streaming through their window and the glinting ring newly on his finger and was at _peace_ for the first time in his life.


End file.
